SWIMMING IN THE MOONLIGHT

“The Mermaid” Painting by Audrey Mabee

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“People sometimes try to convince me that I am drowning.

If that’s true I can breathe underwater.

But I can’t just swim away like a mermaid.

And sometimes I do struggle,

But most of the time my eyes secure themselves

with a deadened glaze and rest in the dankness of my brain.

I know there is no life guard on duty, but if you want to

swim in the moonlight there usually isn’t.

If I go under, the water’s cool, cushiony embrace

Will envelop my tired body and lay me on the

Powdery sand to rest.”

POEM BY KATE NICKERSON, when in high school